U.S. House

2013-2014

2011-12

Issues

Political positions

Legalizing propaganda

In May 2012, Rep. Smith, along with Rep. Mac Thornberry, sponsored an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would negate two previous acts in order to legalize the use of propaganda on Americans. Thornberry stated that the current restriction “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.” [6] Critics said the move was done under the radar and that there are ways to modernize without getting rid of these safeguards.

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Smith voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 16 Democrats that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Adam Smith, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Richard (Dick) Muri (R) in the general election.[14]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

54.9%

123,743

Republican

Richard (Dick) Muri

45.1%

101,851

Total Votes

225,594

2008

On November 4, 2008, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated James Postma (R) in the general election.[15]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

65.4%

176,295

Republican

James Postma

34.6%

93,080

Total Votes

269,375

2006

On November 7, 2006, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steven C. Cofchin (R) in the general election.[16]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

65.7%

119,038

Republican

Steven C. Cofchin

34.3%

62,082

Total Votes

181,120

2004

On November 2, 2004, Adam Smith won to the United States House. He defeated Paul J. Lord (R) and Robert F. Losey (G) in the general election.[17]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

63.3%

162,433

Republican

Paul J. Lord

34.4%

88,304

Green

Robert F. Losey

2.3%

5,934

Total Votes

256,671

2002

On November 5, 2002, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sarah Casada (R) and J. Mills (L) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

58.5%

95,805

Republican

Sarah Casada

38.6%

63,146

Libertarian

J. Mills

2.9%

4,759

Total Votes

163,710

2000

On November 7, 2000, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Chris Vance (R) and Jonathan V. Wright (L) in the general election.[19]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

61.7%

135,452

Republican

Chris Vance

35%

76,766

Libertarian

Jonathan V. Wright

3.4%

7,405

Total Votes

219,623

1998

On November 3, 1998, Adam Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ron Taber (R) in the general election.[20]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smithincumbent

64.7%

111,948

Republican

Rob Taber

35.3%

61,108

Total Votes

173,056

1996

On November 5, 1996, Adam Smith won election to the United States House. He defeated Randy Tate (R) and David Gruenstein (Natural Law) in the general election.[21]

U.S. House, Washington District 9 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Adam Smith

50.1%

105,236

Republican

Randy Tate

47.3%

99,199

Natural Law

David Gruenstein

2.6%

5,432

Total Votes

209,867

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Smith is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Smith raised a total of $6,144,624 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[22]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Smith missed 692 of 11,065 roll call votes from January 1997 to April 2013. This amounts to 6.3%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of April 2013.[30]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Smith paid his congressional staff a total of $1,036,527 in 2011. Overall, Washington ranks 18th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[31]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Smith's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $433,010 and $1,095,000. That averages to $764,005, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth increased by 87.48% from 2010.[32]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Smith's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $190,015 to $625,000. That averages to $407,507.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[33]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Smith was 1 of 2 members who ranked 135th in the liberal rankings in 2012.[34]